April 1, 2005 

Senior Pets for Senior Homes for www.7bellssanctuary.petfinder.com

We start this month off by offering sympathy to Anita & hubby on the loss of Julie Bear. She joined Bubba & Mel at the Bridge. She will be buried in Cocker Garden. Hubby was with her when she passed on. We also offer our sympathy to Connie & foster mom, Rhonda, on the loss of Alexander. He was a beautiful Rotti pup, another casualty of the deadly Parvo. They were with Alexander when he passed on.

We were truly blessed with wonderful adoptive homes this month. We are also extremely thankful for the generous help from wonderful people for the special needs dogs we took in. Those dogs needed more than routine surgery from the day of their rescue. Dr. Anstaett removed tumors from Tipi Girl. Dr. Jane removed the tumors from Missy. Mona & her family adopted Missy knowing that the hernia would need surgery & that the cancer could return.

TeddyBear, a golden retriever/corgi mix pup, went to his new home in Colorado. The family drove in Thursday night, spent two nights in our Mayor's pet friendly Bed & Breakfast, then left out early Saturday. TeddyBear is to be enrolled in Camp Bow Wow to further his education.

Both of the Cole Camp city pound dogs were adopted. We list the dogs on our site & try our best to get them adopted. In the past, most were put to sleep. Thanks to those of you who helped spread the word, homes were found.

Bones, a Doberman, originally adopted from the Clinton shelter, needed to be re-homed due to medical issues that his adoptive family was unable to provide. Thanks to KC Doberman Rescue & their wonderful volunteers, they responded to our plea to help Bones.

Bruce, a long haired miniature dachshund, was adopted from Animal Fair in Sedalia. Initially, Jon & Debra had contacted our rescue. We did not have a dog that would work for their family, yet continued to offer help with their search. We have now become his "Godparents" & were honored to have him spend a few days while his family went to Branson.

Miss Maggie went to the University of Missouri at Columbia on March 3 for her chronic wound. The particle of bone or tooth was not visible on the 2nd set of x-rays, thus nothing to remove. Surgery was recommended to clean out the infection. The downside of surgery was that there would be the chance that not all of the infection could be removed. Miss Maggie has already lost her hearing & vision on the wounded side. Medication, while extremely expensive, has been fairly effective to keep her pain free & reduce the infection. Miss Maggie has been here since June 2004. After tears & prayers, consultation with Dr. Anstaett, her initial veterinarian, Dr. Jane, her current veterinarian, & others close to Miss Maggie, we decided that it was not in Miss Maggie's best interest to put her through this surgery. She is well over the age of 10 yrs., very fragile in spirit & should be allowed to spend her days lying about or taking walks or rides. She loves to visit the local care center, her tail arched & wagging to greet the residents. Her life is good.

We were thrilled when Trina, Trina's Obedience & Behavior Modification, came to visit all of the dogs on site. She gave us some hints on exercise & leash walking. She was a huge help with Elle Mae, her anxiety at meeting new people. Later Trina met with Jon, Debra & Bruce. Once again we saw how a little bit of exercise & leash walking could help. We are so thankful that Trina took her time to help out.

Last but not least, please check out Kristy's comments to adoptive parents under our Happy Tails, Taco Pierre, now known as Langley. They adopted Langley, worked with his behavior issues, have a wonderful little dog. Kristy encourages everyone to work with their dog, not to just give up & return the dog to the shelter or rescue. God Bless Her!! She is learning about rescue dogs & how wonderful they can be with just a little bit of time & patience.